Luxa2 LM100 Mini: "Exquisite & Desirable" m-ITX HTPC Case

As cooling the Northbridge was a point of contention, we opted to augment our
test setup with a better top-down cooler, the Coolermaster Geminii
S.

The Coolermaster
Geminii S, is a preferable alternative to the Alpine 7 Pro.It weighs 500 grams, but its 88 mm height is only a bit more
than the Alpine. The bigger fan should provide better airflow
to the Northbridge.

The Geminii S fits perfectly, almost touching the case
side and with 1.3 cm of clearance above it. Unfortunately, it too precludes
the use of an optical drive.

System Measurements (CPU + GPU Load): Geminii
S

CPU Fan Speed

Case Fan Voltage

SPL @1m

SPL @0.6m

CPU Temp

GPU Temp

1200 RPM

Off

21~22 dBA

25 dBA

74/77°C

82°C

9V

23~24 dBA

28 dBA

67/71°C

75°C

Ambient temperature: 24°C
Ambient noise level: 11 dBA

We ran the fan on the Geminii S at 7V (1200 RPM) which on its own, generated
about 17 [email protected] in our anechoic chamber. Its fan was surprisingly smooth, subdued at 9V and below, although whiny
at full speed. With the case fans off, the system
started out at 17 [email protected] but as the system heated up, the power supply fan ramped
up and the noise level peaked at 21~22 [email protected] Still it was much quieter than
any of the stable states we attained using the Alpine 7.

With the CPU fan spinning at 1200 RPM, the CPU temperature was about 5-8°C
worse than the Alpine 7 at 1600 RPM. However, the GPU temperature showed marked
improvement, staying stable at 83°C without the help of the case fans. Turning
the case fans to 9V resulted in a small increase in noise, but a significant
improvement in CPU and GPU cooling  the temperatures were finally at comfortable
levels. The improvements were still not enough to catch up to the Silverstone SG05/06 though.
The Silverstones' thermal and acoustic results were better even using the Alpine 7 running
at only 1200 RPM.